A self proclaimed ‘slacker’ at a Queen’s Park secondary school is off to study maths at Bristol University after a ‘shambolic’ performance in his AS Levels gave him the wake up call he needed.
Calvin McAdam secured two As in maths and further maths and a C in economics which has secured him a place in one of the UK's top universities.
Only a year ago he got a E in further maths in an AS level paper, which used to be the first component of an A-level paper.
The 18-year-old said: "I'm going to Bristol to study maths. I got the grades, I wasn't sure what was going to happen as I was a slacker and messed around a lot.
"Our AS results were the wake-up call I needed. A lot of us put our heads down. I'm happy with what I got bearing in mind the position I was in."
AS Levels no longer count towards the final grade but he said the school still makes students sit them.
"A hundred per cent it's good to do. Even though you know it doesn't count we still took it seriously. I got an E in further maths. If it wasn't for the AS level I wouldn't have had the wake up call I needed. It was really shambolic.
"I had to learn everything again in just one year. It was hard work."
He added: "This morning when I opened an email and it said 'Welcome to Bristol' I thought I had read it incorrectly so went to the ACAS site to check. I am ecstatic!"
His friend Richard Monteiro is off to study engineering at Cambridge University after securing four A* in maths, further maths, physics and computer science.
"I saw Calvin improve personally over the year and honestly we were all very impressed," he said.
"He changed from an E to an A in further maths in the course of just a few months, which we thought was incredible."
On going to one of the country's most elite universities, he added:
"I don't feel too different about going to Cambridge.I understand it's hard to get in but for me a university is a university and it doesn't really matter."
Head Judith Enright, said: "Queen's Park Community School students have again worked hard and attained high grades, with several students achieving three or more A*s.
"The school is a centre of academic excellence in our community, and we are proud of everything that our young people have achieved.
"Our students are heading off to a range of universities including Cambridge, Imperial, Bristol, Leeds and Warwick; to study subjects including global development , astrophysics, medicine and mechanical engineering."
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